Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

Synopsis

On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.

I had mediocre expectations for this movie but Gus Van Sant did a great job.Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot had my attention as soon as it started and I really enjoyed the unexpected and randomly dropped cartoons and the surprisingly realistic dialog.

Though sometimes the pacing of the movie did slow down a bit too much for my liking.

Jack Black was Jack Black, Jonah Hill gave one of his best performances to date and Joaquin Phoenix was compelling as always.

let me just start off that the timeline was quite unclear. i really dont think they made the past and future visually distinctive enough. and the jumping from the past to the future really didnt add that much to the story in my opinion.

i also think jaoquin wasn’t casted that well. he (together with jonah hill,) is one of those people who i can only see in one type of role. i guess je pulled off the cynical humor, but the emotional parts wether they were happy, sad or hopeful, really didn’t do it for me. also please drop the orange hair, it looked terrible.

however, i think the ending, although a bit cheesy, tied up this movie really well. and i cant quite put my finger on it but there’s just something about the way van sant presents male characters that is just so interesting and intriguing.

It's difficult to build stories about recovery that are structured around typical "12-step plans" without the narrative beats feeling overly familiar or as though said beats simply exist to preach to the audience.

Gus Van Sant attempts to get around this hurdle by presenting John Callahan's life non-linearly, and for the first twenty minutes I'd say that he was largely successful. However, the film eventually devolves away from any kind of sense of structure into what feels more like a series of loosely connected vignettes, with Callahan's alcoholism, injury, romantic life, and emerging fame as a cartoonist all being examined out of sync with one another. I feel it severely detriments the pace of the story and occasionally makes things…

"Sometimes, all we have is a communal space in which to defend ourselves or lay our fears bare, and for all its flaws, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot understands that sober platitudes come with a heavy cost..."

Dealing with touchy subjects such as addiction, homosexuality, & paralysis can be difficult topics to discuss, let alone create an entire film about. Yet Gus Van Sant & John Callihan do just that.

A bio-picture based on the life of John Callihan (Phoenix) tells the story how Callihan became a quadriplegic after years of unknowingly struggling with alcoholism. It shows the impact that AA had on his life & finding a sponsor, Donny (Hill), who shows him how to follow the 12 steps to eventually obtain a standing soberity.

Joaquin Phenoix does an outstanding job playing someone who goes from experiencing self fueled highs through his drink of choice to eventually having his life crashing, literally, down on him after the alcohol eventually…

The way this movie is structured and told really didn't work for me and made it hard at points for me to get involved with the story or characters. But a few hard hitting moments, some really good humor and terrific performances from the entire cast were enough for me.

What a dragged out movie. The movie could've been half an hour shorter and included everything and more. This movie suffers through 70% of it with enjoyable moments. Which is so unfortunate, the cast couldn't do a better job at their roles. Joaquin Phoenix could get an oscar nomination for his role and I wouldn't bat an eye, but the film itself is so unremarkable I wouldn't suggest anyone put themself through it. Yes it has a profound message and some intense themes, but when a screenplay is just so uninteresting that you're constantly hoping it just ends it just isn't worth your time.